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A golden thread in the tapestry of the Church

It’s hard to overstate the influence of St. Benedict of Nursia. He is the Father of Western Monasticism, whose rule of life became the strong root from which so many religious orders grew. Were it not for St. Benedict, the light of truth, wisdom, learning, art, history, music, and the works of ancient philosophers may never have survived, for without his influence, there might not have been numerous monasteries of resilient monks to rebuild and restore civilization after the barbarian invasions.

We want to share a wonderful address given recently by Fr. Thomas Rosica at the Catholic Media Convention in Denver, Colorado. We especially loved the way he links the great Saint Benedict of Nursia with our own Saint Francis of Assisi, and Pope Emeritus Benedict with our present Pope Francis. Using a beautiful quote from the celebrated book on Saint Francis by GK Chesterton (a quote which we just happened to hear for the first time when Dale Ahlquist was on our radio show a couple weeks ago), Father Rosica draws the parallels between these four men, whose names and missions intertwine in a way that shows the marvelous workings of the Holy Spirit. Four men in different times, different centuries, and yet interwoven together in the amazing tapestry of the Church. We hope you find it as inspiring as we did.